A Silent Voice (2016)

A young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.

Director:

Naoko Yamada

Writers:

Yoshitoki Oima (manga: "Koe no katachi"), Reiko Yoshida (screenplay)

Stars:

Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yûki

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miyu Irino	...	Shôya Ishida (voice)
Saori Hayami	...	Shoko Nishimiya (voice)
Aoi Yûki	...	Yuzuru Nishimiya (voice)
Kenshô Ono	...	Tomohiro Nagatsuka (voice)
Yûki Kaneko	...	Naoka Ueno (voice)
Yui Ishikawa	...	Miyoko Sahara (voice)
Megumi Han	...	Miki Kawai (voice)
Toshiyuki Toyonaga	...	Satoshi Mashiba (voice)
Mayu Matsuoka	...	Young Shoya Ishida (voice)
Sachiko Kojima	...	Young Kazuki Shimada (voice)
Hana Takeda	...	Young Keisuke Hirose (voice)
Fuminori Komatsu	...	Takeuchi-sensei (voice)
Ikuko Tani	...	Ito Nishimiya (voice)
Erena Kamata	...	Maria Ishida (voice)
Ayano Hamaguchi	...	Shoya's sister (voice)

Storyline

The story revolves around Nishimiya Shoko, a grade school student who has impaired hearing. She transfers into a new school, where she is bullied by her classmates, especially Ishida Shouya. It gets to the point where she transfers to another school and as a result, Shouya is ostracized and bullied himself, with no friends to speak to and no plans for the future. Years later, he sets himself on a path to redemption.

---

Plot Keywords:

bullying | anime | fireworks | deaf girl | bully | 

---

Taglines:

Sometimes the answer is as simple as learning to listen...

---

Genres:

Animation | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Eleven Arts Anime Studio [United States] Fathom Events [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese Japanese Sign Language

Release Date:

17 September 2016 (Japan)

Also Known As:

A Silent Voice

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

JPY 283,280,037 (Japan), 18 September 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Animation, Kodansha, Kyoto Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 111 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the very beginning of the movie (where "My Generation" by "The Who" plays), when Shoya and his friends enter his mother's hairdresser salon, Nishimiya with long hair can be seen looking at a magazine about hairstyles in the salon. The next day when Nishimiya starts to Shoya's school, she has short, bob-cut hair.

---

Goofs

During Ishida and Ueno's conversation at the crosswalk, Nishimiya is seen holding the pouch that Ishida had given to her as a gift. However, it disappears after Ueno sprints across the street and removes Nishimiya's earpiece; it is nowhere to be seen on her person or on the ground.

---

Soundtracks

My Generation
Written by Pete Townshend
Performed by The Who

User Reviews

A healthy dose of drama that we never knew we needed.

A Silent Voice or Shape of Voice is a beautiful drama film about a guy who struggles to redeem his past that tackles heavy themes such as bullying.

Apparently, there are a lot of characters in this 2-hour long film. And quite a number of them I believe didn't develop to the maximum as the film concludes but it was suffice enough to convey the message that the film desires to.

However, huge compliments should be given to this film for the amazing build up before reaching its climax which is realistically intense, powerful and heartfelt that will leave you on the edge of your seat with your jaws dropped. You might as well cry, too.

The only technical thing that I didn't like in this film is that some scenes have unusual tones that don't match well with their focuses (most probably because of cultural differences). It was really odd for me.

In a nutshell, I love this film for tackling heavy themes and also for its healthy dose of drama. I believe it might be better if it's made into a series. XD

Thank you for your time!